The present invention relates to shoulder adjuster apparatus to be mounted on an automobile, and also relates to an assembling method of the same capable of adjusting the position in a height of webbing anchor in accordance with a sitting height of a rider of the automobile.
Attaching of a seat belt apparatus is obligatory for an automobile to keep and secure the safety of a rider. When a rider is to set a seat belt (webbing) by operating a seat belt apparatus, there is a fear of a so-called "hanging" state depending on the sitting height of the rider. To prevent such hanging state from happening to secure a comfortable drive, various types of shoulder adjuster apparatus have been proposed, which are capable of adjusting the upward position of the webbing anchor in accordance with the sitting height of the rider. One of such types of shoulder adjuster apparatus is a seat belt anchor apparatus, disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-279445, proposed by the present inventor as a shoulder adjuster apparatus. In a conventional shoulder adjuster apparatus, an adjuster rail to be fixed on an attaching portion of a vehicle body such as the center pillar is constructed in a linear form, where it is difficult to attach the adjuster rail to the curved body attaching portion in a stable manner. Also, since the number of component parts in such a shoulder adjuster apparatus is large, the assembling process thereof is complicated and time-consuming, thus automatization is difficult. Also, assembling such a shoulder adjuster apparatus cannot be efficiently performed, resulting in an increase in costs.
Further, since, in a conventional shoulder adjuster apparatus, the slide assembly is not constructed to be stably held in a slide garnish, the webbing anchor means cannot be stably attached to this slide garnish. There is thus a problem in the strength of the webbing anchor and, as the number of the component parts in the operating mechanism is large, the assembling of the operation mechanism is complicated, which has been the cause in increasing costs and a large amount of time and labor have been necessary.
Furthermore, while the slide assembly is constructed to accommodate the webbing anchor means, a slide positioning means and a latch coil spring of a latch means, the slide assembly cannot be integrally assembled with the slide garnish. Thus, the webbing anchor means, the slide positioning means and the latch coil spring cannot be stably accommodated, causing an unstableness which is an obstacle in promoting an automatic assembling.
Moreover, in a conventional shoulder adjusting apparatus, in addition to the unfavorable assembling characteristic, while the coil spring of the slide positioning means is to be accommodated, the coil spring is difficult to be accommodated in a stable manner. Further, since the latch means is to be mounted on the slide assembly of which the assembling characteristic is not favorable, it cannot be assembled in a stable manner. Otherwise, since the shape of the latch plate is complicated as it is constructed with teeth, its press working has been difficult.